On June 23, the Rent Guidelines Board voted to freeze existing rents for six months before increasing rates by 1.5 percent for the remaining half of the year for one-year leases. The RGB also voted to raise rents on two-year leases by 2.5 percent. The new rates take effect for leases commencing...
The application portal for New York’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) has finally opened. As of June 1, eligible tenants and landlords can apply for rental assistance to help them get back on their feet. Many...
The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) recently started its annual process for examining and considering lease renewal guidelines in the coming year. This is the one decision of the RGB that has the greatest impact on owners since the board’s decision with regard to rent renewal increases affects...
A recent lawsuit filed by the Housing Rights Initiative (HRI) against 88 brokerage firms and landlords brought attention to source-of-income discrimination. This discrimination is the illegal practice by landlords, owners, and brokers of refusing to rent to current or prospective tenants seeking...
State lawmakers recently introduced a newly amended bill that’s intended to meet the federal requirements of the COVID-19 rent-relief measure enacted in December 2020. The federal rent relief package included $25 billion in emergency rental assistance. New York State is expected to receive...
The latest application window for COVID rent relief ends Feb. 1.
When the New York State Legislature passed the Emergency Rent Relief Act of 2020 last May, the DHCR was charged with administering the program by disbursing $100 million from the state’s CARES Act money to eligible...
The DHCR recently updated its fact sheet related to demolitions. Demolitions have garnered more attention in recent years due to the sweeping changes made to rent regulations as a result of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA). Passed in June 2019, HSTPA severely limited rent...
The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019, which went into effect on June 14, 2019, made dramatic changes to how rents can be raised. It changed formulas for vacancy leases, major capital improvements (MCI), and individual apartment improvements (IAI). Before HSTPA, rent...
On Aug. 12, 2020, New York State Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks issued a memorandum revising the procedure for both residential and commercial eviction proceedings. This guidance comes a week after Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.55 extending New York’s eviction...
